Bruce,
Thank you once again for your advice and experience.

Perhaps when I get back home, you may care to have lunch with me in
Bangkok. I visit there sometimes on work related matters. Conversely,
if you are ever in provincial Penang or God's second best creation,
Malaysia (his first is New Zealand), I would be more than happy to act
as host to you and your owner so long as you don't mind a noisy
household.

Perhaps I might even get you to accompany me to the local mosque for
prayers (damn! I bit my tongue whilst stuffing it against my cheek). I
go there for understandable peace and quiet.

cheers
Peter


Peter,

I suspect that you have electrolysis. You mention an aluminum heat
exchanger and I'm sure that there is some iron in the engine block and
you have a mini battery there. Rust inhibiter may help but probably
won't eliminate the problem. I'd suggest adding a couple of zinc
anodes to the system. Sort of one at one end of the system and one at
the other.

If I had your problem I'd repair the damage; add anodes, replace all
seals in the heat exchanger; flush the fresh water side with rain
water or other source of clean, soft water; put it all back together
and wait for seven more years. In'sha Allah it will be good.

I suggest replacing seals and flushing the fresh water side as
electrolysis would be accelerated if you have leaked a bit of sea
water into the fresh water side.

As for advise on leaving an engine in a tropical climate I can only
say that I overhauled my Perkins 4-107 ten years ago. Filled the
cooling system with fresh water, added some "green stuff", supposed to
be good for the water pump, anti rust -- sort of magic bullet kind of
stuff. Other then blowing a coolant hose going into Rebak Marina 4-5
years ago have never even added water to the system. Sailing Singapore
- Malaysia - Thailand and other then the blown hose and resultant
water refill have never had to add water to the engine.

So, I don't think you done wrong. Excepting that you probably forgot
the libation for Neptune, the three colored scarves for the Sea
Goddess, and the firecrackers to frighten the devils away the last
time you set sail.



Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)